Front hub replacement on 47 WL

[dmarvo]

I’m in the process of rebuilding the wheels on my WL. After removing the front there is some pitting in the drum mostly from past sitting and moisture. Any opinions on a replacement hub or is it possible to clean up? Being a steel drum, I’m thinking not possible to resurface. Other than this spot rest of surface looks ok. Any helpful advice appreciated. Thank you!

[Rubone]

Drums are a replacement part on those wheels. They show up NOS military surplus often. Here is one on eBay but it is a bit spendy! If the bearing races are pitted or grooved it is better to replace the entire hub.
Turning doesn't work well for several reasons, the drums get too thin to effectively shed heat, and custom shoes must be made to maintain correct contact and clearance.
The other option is to run it as it is, not much loss of braking surface and not detrimental to shoe life.

[dmarvo]

Thank you for the advice. The bearing surfaces are good spins really nice. Needs to be ready-laced as spoke nipples are tight. The front brakes worked horribly though, but maybe with some new linings and adjustment would be better? I’m building this for a Chase bike for next Fall and want it road worthy for cross country.

[Rubone]

Factory linings arced properly seem to work best. Most of the aftermarket replacements are junk.

[Architect]

I have three front wheels for my '46 WL, unfortunately I can state it does make a difference. Two wheels I have are 18", both work well, for what they are. Then I have a 16" wheel which seems to be from a 1940 WL, surface is similar in condition to yours. Makes a bad brake just about useless. The good news is that wheels pop up all the time from the Bay to the swaps, me having three of them is proof of that. I wanted to re-surface the hub on my 16" wheel, but it had just been re-laced. They guy that was going to give it a shot needed the hub only.

And yes, I use NOS US Surplus liners. I have been hoarding them from some sources on the Bay, work much better than old or new repops. Good luck.